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| Supreme Court debates use of segregation in California prisons |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/03/2004 |
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The Supreme Court is taking up a racial segregation case that asks if black California inmates are being unconstitutionally bunked together for months at a time, in the name of keeping prisons safe. The Bush administration has sided with a black convicted killer who claims he has been humiliated by forced prison segregation. The case poses an interesting conflict for the high court. Since the landmark Brown-versus-Board of Education ruling, the court has repeatedly held that racial segregation is unacceptable, including a 1968 decision barring blanket segregation in prisons. But justices have also given prison officials a free hand in managing their facilities, to control violence and protect inmates and their officers. The case revolves around an unwritten California policy that dates back more than 25 years. It requires officials to assign newly arrived black prisoners to bunk only with other black prisoners for two months or more. Inmates are separated again by race when they transfer to a new facility. If the Supreme Court clears California's policy, other states will feel free to copy it. |
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